Duplicator



Feb. 25, 194-1. H. c. WALTER DUPLICATOR Filed Jan. 27, 1940 n i a m N. w J1 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 25, 1941 UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICE t DUPLIcAToR Harry C. Walter, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Application January 27, 1940, SeralvNo. 315,882

7 Claims.

This invention is concerned with a method of page to `page duplication which is particularly useful in books or pads already bound, such, for instance, as books of account, and the provision of a simple device for this purpose.

No easy and inexpensive method of or device for accomplishing the type of duplication described above has been known. Bookkeepers or auditors, for example, who are frequently under the necessity of transferring material from one page to another in columnar pads or books, have found it necessary to copy their column headings, or other material, by hand, or utilize rubber stamps. Both methods involve considerable time 15 and a chance of errors being made, particularly errors of the type where the column headings become transposed or all the headings of a page may be shifted and hence be out of registry with the previous page. The rubber stamp method is 20 impracticable for most uses, as a diiferent group of stamps would be necessary for each type of job, and the cost is excessive.

Attempts have been made toqovercome these difficulties by supplying pages printed with suitable indicia, as for instance printed ledger sheets, but such sheets also have a limited eld of usefulness by reason of the many different combinations of headings encountered in practice.

An essential object of my invention is to overcome the aforesaid difficulties by a simple device, easy to operate and inexpensive to manufacture, and in addition I contemplate the provision of a device which may be readily and accurately centered over the working area of the page to be printed. I utilize a gelatine pad of the type found in duplicating machines commonly referred to as hectographs or ditto machines, in combination with a mount or frame for the pad which normally serves to hold the ink-receiving gelatine pad or other duplicator out of contact with the surface to be printed. This mount, however, is of a character to permit its depression by the operator and the consequent 45 transfer of an impression, and in the preferred form I accomplish the ready centering of the device by making the material of the mount transparent.

More specically, I provide a jelly pad-receiv- 50 ing mount ofenlongated concave, or channel form in which the pad is fixed longitudinally of the channel. 'I'he side walls of said channel are displaceable outwardly from the pad, and this, preferably with very little pressure when the 55 device is placed in operative position, i. e., with (ci. i-,131)

theopen side face downward on the surface to `be printed.

In the preferred form of my invention the pad A holder may be made of some resilient material `sho-uldbe borne in mind that the mount could 10 be' made of some other suitable material having a considerable degree of inherent rigidity without departing from the spirit of the invention.

`It is only necessary that the side walls of the device be made of such a material, or mounted in such a way asto permit their outward displacement inl order to bring the jelly pad into contact with the working surface.

How the foregoing objects and advantages are Vaccomplished will be presented more fully in the Fig. 2.

For greater clarity in showing the arrange- -30 ment of parts, the device is illustrated in Fig. 1 with the side walls of the concave or channel member disposed upwardly. This is opposite to the position of the device when in use. Indicia to be transferred will be seen in reverse on the pad in Fig. 1.

The gelatin pad, designated by the reference numeral l, may be held against the bottom of the channel 2, by any convenient means. In the embodiment illustrated, two retaining members 3--3 having side wall engaging portions 4--4 are used for the purpose, as well as the natural adhesion of the pad with the mount. It will be seen, of course, that where the retaining members are utilized, they must be of a flexible material capable of the same degree of displacement as the channel side walls.

The mount 2 is, as set forth above, made of transparent material in order that the gelatin pad may be readily positioned abovethe space to be printed, see Fig. 2, and the side walls 5--5 of said mount may be then displaced outwardly under pressure from above. To aid in positioning the device, one or more guide marks may be made on a side wall of the mount, two being shown in the drawing at 6-6. Fig. 2 illustrates the alignment of such guide marks with page rulings when the device is in use.

The operation of the device is as follows: The column headings or other indicia which the operator desires to reproduce, are handwritten or stamped in copy ink on the first page of the pad or book. The jelly pad is then broughtl into contact with said ink and an impression transferred from the page to the gelatin. Following this, the device isslid across the paper or; page until the spot or line to receive the impression is seen through the transparent mount to be correctly aligned with the indicia carried by the pad. The guide marks 6 6, mentioned above, may be-found helpful in this positioning, particularly Where the pages are vertically ruled.

After the device is lined up,I a slight-pressure of the lingers will displace the channel side walls, the ink of the pad will be brought into-contact with the paper, and an impression transferred. Following this, the pressure may be Vremoved and the inked pad can again be brought vout of contact with the paper. This is assisted by reason of the natural resilience of the `material of the mount.

It is not applicants desire to limithis invention to a method of and a device for the transfer of indicia in bound books only. Books. of fthis `type were used by way of example in connection with the description, as the invention is believed to result in greater advantages where such books are concerned, but it is obvious that the invention is just as applicableto unbound sheets.

l. A duplicator of the character described, which includes a transparent'hectograph,a transparent backing member lon -whichfsaid hectograph is mounted, and `means associated with said backing member and normallyfserving to maintain said hectograph out ofcontact with the surface to be printed, said means being displaceable to'permit depression of the duplicator and contact of the hectograph Withthe surface to be printed.

2. A duplicator of the character described, which includes a transparent hectograph, a transparent backing member yon which said hectograph is mounted, and means associated with said backing member and normally serving to maintain said hectograph out of contact with the surface to be printed, said means being resilient to permit depression of the duplicator and contact of the hectograph with the surface to be printed.

3. A duplicator of the character described, which includes a transparent hectograph, and a member of substantially channel form in which said hectograph is held, the bottom of said channel being transparent and its side walls being displaceable outwardly to permit depression of the duplicator andl contact of the hectograph with thev surface to bey printed.

4. A duplicator of the character described,

which includes a transparent hectograph, a transparent backing member on which said hectograph is mounted, and means associated with said backing member and normally serving to maintain said hectograph out of contact with the surface to be printed, said means being displaceable to permit depression of the duplicator and `contact of the hectograph with the surface to be printed.

5..A `duplicator of the character described, which includes a transparent hectograph, and a member of substantially channel form in which said hectograph is held, said channel member being transparent and suiliciently lresilient to permit depression of the duplicator and contact of the hectograph with the surface to be printed.

6. A duplicator of the character described, which includes a transparent hectograph, and a member of substantially channel form in which said hectograph is held, the bottom. of said channel being transparent and its side walls being displaceable outwardly to permitdepression of the duplicator and contact of the hectograph with the surface to be printed, said channel member beingprovided with indicia to facilitate positioning of the same.

7. A method of page-topage duplication of indicia which comprises the steps of marking a specimen with the desired indicia in copying ink, transferring the indicia to a Ytransparent hectograph, mounting the hectograph in a yieldable transparent mount which is adapted to hold its ,Y

face clear of the work, successively positioning the mounted hectograph over the pages to be marked, and pressing the mounted hectograph against the pages to transfer the indicia from the hectograph to the pages.

HARRY C. WALTER. 

